Check this out....

[tfunk88]

So, I'm test driving F450's trying to find the one that "speaks" to me and let's me know it's the one I want to buy. I test drove a new King Ranch with 4.88 rear (job 1, been on the lot a long time!) and it is awesome. Until I drove this truck I was totally against autos, now not so sure. Anyway, at cruise at 60mph on relatively level road it was averaging 12.9mpg according to the dash. Today I test drove a Lariat with 4.30 auto, and at the same speed it was averaging 8.6mpg according to the dash. I then took another 4.88 truck on the same route and it was averaging 13.1 according to the dash. It doesn't make sense to me that the 4.88 was getting better economy. Oh, and to be honest, I did not like the auto/4.30 combo anywhere near as much as with the 4.88. I do think I am gonna test drive a manual truck again and see if I can really stand an auto.

[dieselwhisperer]

I'm no authority but my guess is this... it all depends on when and if someone has reset the MPG button. I know my job 1 takes a good 60-80 miles before the MPG meter settles in on around 13.5 MPG

[tfunk88]

Originally Posted by dieselwhisperer

I'm no authority but my guess is this... it all depends on when and if someone has reset the MPG button. I know my job 1 takes a good 60-80 miles before the MPG meter settles in on around 13.5 MPG

C'mon, man, gimme some credit! I reset them before I began the test drives!

[timid1]

Originally Posted by tfunk88

C'mon, man, gimme some credit! I reset them before I began the test drives!

How big were the gas tanks of each of your test vehicles? Was there the same amount of fuel in each vehicle? Was the tire air pressure the same in each vehicle? Did you have the air conditioner on in each vehicle, or did you roll with the windows down?

[Engine31]

Originally Posted by tfunk88

So, I'm test driving F450's trying to find the one that "speaks" to me and let's me know it's the one I want to buy. I test drove a new King Ranch with 4.88 rear (job 1, been on the lot a long time!) and it is awesome. Until I drove this truck I was totally against autos, now not so sure. Anyway, at cruise at 60mph on relatively level road it was averaging 12.9mpg according to the dash. Today I test drove a Lariat with 4.30 auto, and at the same speed it was averaging 8.6mpg according to the dash. I then took another 4.88 truck on the same route and it was averaging 13.1 according to the dash. It doesn't make sense to me that the 4.88 was getting better economy. Oh, and to be honest, I did not like the auto/4.30 combo anywhere near as much as with the 4.88. I do think I am gonna test drive a manual truck again and see if I can really stand an auto.

My 4.88 gets off the line with it's 9000lbs of truck easier then a 4.30 will around town, and holds a city speed nicely in overdrive at a low rpm.
On the highway it will probably be a different story.

[dieselwhisperer]

Sorry tfunk, just throwing things out there. Good luck on your purchase.

[dirtdigger69]

I had a 550 w/ 4.88s and it will not even come close to pulling with my 350 and 3.73s plus the 350 gets about 6 miles per gallon better.

[tfunk88]

Originally Posted by timid1

How big were the gas tanks of each of your test vehicles? Was there the same amount of fuel in each vehicle? Was the tire air pressure the same in each vehicle? Did you have the air conditioner on in each vehicle, or did you roll with the windows down?

Fuel tanks were the standard 38 gallon tanks...these were both pickups, not chassis cabs. Same amount of fuel in each one, a/c set to same temp in each one, one 4.88 truck was brand new, both other trucks had right around 10,000 miles. I was just really surprised that both 4.88 trucks showed basically the same mileage at the same speed. As for tire pressures, I did not check them but none of the tires looked to be under-inflated whatsoever.